GTA 6 Devs Spent Years Trying To Replace The Weapon Wheel

Rockstar Tried And Failed To Find An Alternative To GTA 6's "Soulless" Weapon Wheel Rockstar Published Oct 20, 2026, 7:09 AM EDT Josh Coulson is an editor at TheGamer covering breaking news on everything from colorful platformers to the latest Lego sets. Primarily a news writer since 2018, Josh has covered just about every major game from the past decade. Now an editor, their focus has shifted to being the leading affiliate expert at the site, building relationships between TheGamer and global brands including Mattel, Funko, and The Pokemon Company. Sign in to your TheGamer account We are officially less than a month away from the launch of GTA 6. That means Rockstar still has a few more weeks to squeeze in some reveals before we’re all left to our own devices in Leonida, and the latest of those reveals is that the team knows how much we hate GTA’s weapon wheel, and they really did try to come up with an alternative. Rockstar Doesn't Like The GTA Weapon Wheel Either Rockstar The new details about Rockstar’s failed attempts to replace the maligned weapon wheel come from Jason Schreier. Schreier went to Rockstar North to see more of GTA 6 and speak to some of the team who have been working on it for the past decade or more. In a follow-up video to his initial one covering some of the bigger topics, Schreier revealed some insight on the quest to replace the weapon wheel. “They spent months, if not years, trying a million different things that would replace the weapon wheel,” Schreier revealed (thanks, Dexerto). The team wanted players to have a limited number of weapons, but wanted to move on from the wheel as they don’t like how the UI looks in GTA 5 when, most of the time, players are presented with big, empty slots filling their screens whenever they switch weapons. Schreier notes that one of the alternatives they tested was a web, adding that they ran through several ideas that included removing the weapon interface completely, but, ultimately, found themselves back at the weapon wheel. “After all that, they just wound up back at a weapon wheel and in the final game it’s just a weapon wheel again,” Schreier concludes, as we’ve seen in previous footage of the game we’ve been shown so far. The Weapon Wheel Is Here To Stay Rockstar The reveal that the weapon wheel will return in GTA 6 was confirmed via the game’s extended look on Netflix, and was met with a collective groan from fans of the series. There hasn’t been much we’ve been shown so far that has been met with anything less than fervor and excitement. The weapon wheel, though, didn’t spark much joy among the millions dying to get their hands on this game and return to Vice City. While it would have been nice for GTA 6 to have figured out an alternative to the weapon wheel, it isn’t going to detract from the game’s success. It did affect its development, though. Schreier goes on to explain that it was seemingly small decisions like the one regarding the weapon wheel that contributed to GTA 6’s multiple delays. It led to frustration behind the scenes as developers agonized over every tiny detail. It will be those tiny details that set GTA 6 apart, making the 13-year gap between games worth it. GTA 6 is expected to sell millions, if not tens of millions, within the first few days of its release. The anticipation surrounding its arrival is perfectly demonstrated by the popularity of its launch trailer. 47 million views in three days, compared to the 34 million GTA 5’s launch trailer has managed in 13 years. Systems Released November 19, 2026 ESRB Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+ Developer(s) Rockstar Games Publisher(s) Rockstar Games Engine Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) Genre(s) Action, Adventure